Word of the Day 88-100

Word of the Day 88~~December 27, 2009


Expatiate \ek-SPAY-shee-ayt\

intransitive verb;

1.
To speak or write at length or in considerable detail.
2.
To move about freely; to wander.


Origin:
Expatiate is from Latin expatiari, "to walk or go far and wide," from ex-, "out" + spatiari, "to walk about," from spatium, "space; an open space, a place for walking in."

Word of the Day 89~~December 28, 2009


Surreptitious \suhr-uhp-TISH-uhs; suh-rep-\

adjective;

1.
Done, made, or gotten by stealth.
2.
Acting with or marked by stealth.


Origin:
Surreptitious comes from Latin surrepticius, "stolen, secret, surreptitious," from surripere, "to take away secretly; to steal," from sub-, "under" + rapere, "to seize, to snatch."

Word of the Day 90~~December 29, 2009


Cajole \kuh-JOHL\

transitive verb;

1.
To persuade with flattery, repeated appeals, or soothing words; to coax.


Origin:
Cajole derives from Early Modern French cajoler, originally, "to chatter like a bird in a cage, to sing; hence, to amuse with idle talk, to flatter," from Old French gaiole, jaiole, "a cage," from Medieval Latin caveola, "a small cage," from Latin cavea, "an enclosure, a den for animals, a bird cage," from cavus, "hollow." It is related to cave, cage and jail (British gaol).

Word of the Day 91~~December 30, 2009


Presage \PRES-ij; pri-SEYJ\

noun;

1.
An indication or warning of a future event; an omen.
2.
A feeling or intuition of what the future holds.
3.
Prophetic significance.
4.[Archaic] A prediction; a prognostication.

transitive verb:

1.
To indicate or warn of beforehand; to foreshadow.
2.
To have a presentiment of.
3.To predict; to foretell.

intransitive verb:

1.
To make or utter a prediction.



Origin:
Presage is derived from Latin praesagium, "presentiment," from praesagus "having a presentiment," from prae-, "before" + sagus, "prophetic."

Word of the Day 92~~December 31, 2009


Vicissitude \vih-SIS-ih-tood; -tyood\

noun;

1.
Regular change or succession from one thing to another; alternation; mutual succession; interchange.
2.
Irregular change; revolution; mutation.
3.
A change in condition or fortune; an instance of mutability in life or nature (especially successive alternation from one condition to another).


Origin:
Vicissitude comes from Latin vicissitudo, from vicissim, in turn, probably from vices, changes.

Word of the Day 93~~January 1, 2010


Panacea \pan-uh-SEE-uh\

noun;

1.
A remedy for all diseases, problems, or evils; a universal medicine; a cure-all.


Origin:
Panacea derives from Greek panakeia, from panakes, "all-healing," from pan-, "all" + akos, "cure."

Word of the Day 94~~January 2, 2010


Constitutional \kon-stih-TOO-shuhn-uhl; -TYOO-\

noun;

1.
A walk taken for one's health.


Origin:
A constitutional is so called because it is taken for the benefit of one's constitution.

Word of the Day 95~~January 3, 2010


Tortuous \TOR-choo-us\

adjective;

1.
Marked by repeated turns and bends; as, "a tortuous road up the mountain."
2.
Not straightforward; devious; as, "his tortuous reasoning."
3.
Highly involved or intricate; as, "tortuous legal procedures."


Origin:
Tortuous is from Latin tortuosus, from tortus, "a twisting," from the past participle of torquere, "to twist."

Word of the Day 96~~January 4, 2010


Enjoin \en-JOIN\

transitive verb;

1.
To direct or impose with authority; to order.
2.
To prohibit; to forbid.


Origin:
Enjoin derives from Old French enjoindre, from Latin injungere, "to attach, to fasten to; also, to bring upon," from in- + jungere, "to join."

Word of the Day 97~~January 5, 2010


Atelier \at-l-YAY\

noun;

1.
A workshop; a studio.


Origin:
Atelier comes from French, from Old French astelier, "carpenter's shop," from astele, "splinter," from Late Latin astella, alteration of Latin astula, itself an alteration of assula, "a shaving, a chip," diminutive of assis, "board."

Word of the Day 98~~January 6, 2010


Flibbertigibbet \FLIB-ur-tee-jib-it\

noun;

1.
A silly, flighty, or scatterbrained person, especially a pert young woman with such qualities.


Origin:
Flibbertigibbet is from Middle English flipergebet, which is probably an imitation of the sound of meaningless chatter.

Word of the Day 99~~January 7, 2010


Quotidian \kwoh-TID-ee-uhn\

adjective;

1.
Occurring or returning daily; as, a quotidian fever.
2.
Of an everyday character; ordinary; commonplace.


Origin:
Quotidian is from Latin quotidianus, from quotidie, "daily," from quotus, "how many, as many, so many" + dies, "day."

Word of the Day 100~~January 8, 2010


Gesticulate \juh-STIK-yuh-layt\

intransitive verb;

1.To make gestures or motions, especially while speaking or instead of speaking.

transitive verb:

1.To indicate or express by gestures.


Origin:
Gesticulate is from Latin gesticulatus, past participle of gesticulari, "to gesticulate," from gesticulus, diminutive of gestus, "gesture, action."